"We have examined various wars and guerilla wars and we noted a whole series of them that have been concluded or in which progress have been made last year:

Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Republic of the Philippines, between the Government and the Moro Front, and then Guatemala, where a civil war fraught with extraordinary savagery for thirty six years has been completed and an agreement was announced with international sanction between President Alvaro Arzú Irigoyen and Rolando Morán, a representative of the Revolutionary Union of Guatemala.

Our Jury has decided to honour both the President of Guatemala and the Chief of the guerrilla movement that, with the support of the international community, took the decision to end the civil war. We hope that this agreement serves as an example and model for resolving all conflicts and put an end to human sufferings in the world. It is with great pleasure that we award this year the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize to Mr Alvaro Arzú Irigoyen and Mr Rolando Morán."

NB: The videos below are available in French only.

Address by Mr Alioune Traoré, Executive Secretary of the Prize, followed by Mr Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO:

Address by Mr Henri Konan Bédié, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Sponsor of the Prize:

Address by Mr Abdou Diouf, President of the Republic of Senegal, Patron of the Prize:

Address by Mr Misael Pastrana Borrero, Vice-President of the Jury, announcing the Prizewinners:

Address by Mr Alvaro Arzú Irigoyen, President of the Republic of Guatemala, 1996 Prizewinner

The Award Ceremony of the Prize was held on June 26, 1997 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, and was attended by several personalities including:

- Mr Abdou Diouf, President of the Republic of Senegal, Patron of the Prize ; - Mr Henri Konan Bédié, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Sponsor of the Prize ; - Mr Rosny Smarth, Prime Minister of Haïti ; - Mr Jean-Pierre Masseret, Secretary of State for Defence, with special responsibility for Former Combatants; - Mr John Hamilton, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central America and the Caribbean ;- Mr Ahmed Saleh Sayyad, President of the General Conference of UNESCO ;- Mr Nouréini Tidjani-Serpos, Chairman of the Executive Board of UNESCO ; - Mr Jean Foyer, Vice-President of the Jury ; - Mr Misael Pastrana Borrero, Vice-President of the Jury ; - Mr Mohammed Bedjaoui, Member of the Jury ; - Mr Iba Der Thiam, Member of the Jury ;- Mr Juan Carrillo Salcedo, Member of the Jury ;- Mr Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO ;- Mr Alioune Traoré, Executive Secretary of the Prize.

Photographs

All use of photos is subject to the authorization of the Executive Secretariat of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize (UNESCO).